Vauxhall Vivaro Top Choice At Leading Pump Maker

LUTON, UNITED KINGDOM – Aug 26, 2010: The Vauxhall Vivaro model is the top choice of field service engineers at leading pump maker SPP Pumps, leading the company to convert its entire 17-strong van fleet to the Vauxhall marque.

Four years ago when considering its replacement policy the company took a Vivaro demonstrator and passed it around its engineers to get their views. The Vivaro was unanimously voted for because of its comfort and car-like driving characteristics.

“The primary job of our engineers is to fix pumps,” said Operations Manager John Warren. “Driving is incidental to that and it’s important that as they move between jobs they can do so in comfort and safety so that when they arrive at the customer they are less stressed and tired and able to work more effectively.

“We chose the Vivaro because of its high level of specification to which we added the electric pack, which provides features such as electric windows, mirrors and remote locking. In addition we added air conditioning and an up-specification driver seat option that all make the vans more comfortable and easier to drive and use.”

Mr Warren said that the appearance of the Vivaro was also appealing as it presented a modern image of the company. That image has been considerably enhanced by the application of a head-turning livery that includes large images of the company’s products with the company name prominently displayed.

The vinyls, supplied and fitted by Aldermaston Signs, have been applied onto the silver base colour in which the vans were finished at Vauxhall’s Luton plant. As they reach the end of their four year service life with SPP Pumps these are easily removed and, together with all the high spec features of these Vivaros, this helps to ensure a high residual value and a more cost effective lease price.

“We’ve also been pleased with the good economy we get from the Vivaro, which is particularly important in these days of high fuel prices and with vehicles that average around 26,000 miles a year,” says John Warren.

“As well as seeking the views of those who would drive them we also carried out in-depth research into the reliability of all the models in this weight range. Vivaro came out on top overall and that result has been confirmed by our experience, which has been very good with low levels of downtime. The vans are based around the UK and the availability of good service support from the Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles dealer network was also a factor.”

Alongside the Vivaros, SPP runs three Combos and a Movano dropside truck. These all support SPP Pump’s work in ensuring that pumps that are crucial to safety in fire protection or in vital services like water and waste treatment can be kept constantly operational.

For more than 130 years SPP Pumps has been a leading manufacture of centrifugal pumps and associated systems. Its products are in use around the world in industries ranging from petrochemicals to mining and shipping. They can also be found in a variety of civil applications that include utility services and flood protection and alleviation.

In the UK it operates from a head office in Reading with service depots in Belfast, Stockport, Eastleigh and Coleford in Gloucestershire, where it also has a manufacturing facility. There are also operations in the US, France, South Africa, Singapore and Dubai.